Mactra corallina

Mactra corallina (Photo: Hans Hillewaert )

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Spiralia
Cladus: Lophotrochozoa
Phylum: Mollusca
Classis: Bivalvia
Subclassis: Heterodonta
Ordo: Veneroida
Superfamilia: Mactroidea
Familia: Mactridae
Genus: Mactra
Species: Mactra corallina

Name

Mactra corallina (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

* Mactra corallina Report on ITIS

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Bunte Trogmuschel
English: Rayed trough shell
Nederlands: Grote strandschelp

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Mactra stultorum, known also as Mactra corallina is a species of edible saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mactridae, the trough shells.

Distribution

This species lives in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean coasts, and the west coast of Europe, north from Norway down to the Iberian Peninsula, and south from there to Senegal.
Habitat

This bivalve lives on sandy (rarely soft) bottoms at depths of between 5 and 30 m, although the shell is very often found on beaches, where it has been cast up by wave action.
Shell description

This species has a very thin and delicate shell, which has concentric growth lines and sometimes also has colored radiating bands, hence its common name, the rayed trough shell. The shell interior is white.
Human use

This species is sometimes sold in markets as a food item.